Meaning & use
sophistic
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivecomparabledisapproving
Seeming clever and convincing but actually based on false or misleading reasoning.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after a verb: a sophistic argument.
Patterns
- a sophistic argument
His sophistic reply avoided the real question.
The lawyer used a sophistic trick to confuse the jury.
The essay was elegant but ultimately sophistic.
adjectivebefore a nounspecialist
Relating to the sophists, the paid teachers of rhetoric and philosophy in ancient Greece.
Grammar: Historical use, often capitalized in philosophy writing.
The sophistic movement taught the art of persuasive speech.
Plato criticized the sophistic approach to truth.
Students read sophistic texts from fifth-century Athens.
Word forms
| comparative | more sophistic |
|---|---|
| superlative | most sophistic |
Common combinations
- a sophistic argument
- Her sophistic argument sounded sharp but proved nothing.
- sophistic reasoning
- Sophistic reasoning misled the audience.
- sophistic rhetoric
- The speech was full of sophistic rhetoric.
- a sophistic trick
- Changing the question was a sophistic trick.
Synonyms and how they differ
- sophistical
- Sophistical is the more usual form and means exactly the same.
- specious
- Specious means looking right but wrong, and is not tied to clever argument style.
- fallacious
- Fallacious simply means based on an error and carries no sense of trickery.
- misleading
- Misleading is plain and general, while sophistic stresses clever, deliberate reasoning.
Opposites
Word family
- sophist noun
- a person who argues cleverly but misleadingly
- sophistry noun
- clever but false reasoning
- sophistical adjective
- relating to sophistry
- sophisticated adjective
- complex or worldly; different in meaning
Commonly confused: sophistic or sophisticated?
sophistic vs sophisticated
Sophisticated means complex, refined or worldly. Sophistic means misleadingly clever in argument.
Practice
The politician's ___ answer sounded convincing but avoided the real issue.
Choose one answer.
Sophistic describes misleading clever reasoning. Sophisticated means refined, which does not fit an answer that dodges the issue.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “sophistic”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.